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The three-cent silver was struck by the Mint of the United States for circulation from 1851 to 1872, and as a proof coin for collectors in 1873. A reduction of postage rates to three cents prompted Congress in 1851 to authorize the coin. At the time, profiteers were exporting and melting U.S. silver coins for their metal to trade for increasing amounts of gold in the wake of the California Gold Rush. The three-cent silver thwarted this scheme, as the first American coin with metal valued significantly less than its face value, and the first silver coin not usable as legal tender in unlimited amounts. Designed by the Mint's Chief Engraver, James B. Longacre, the coin saw heavy use until Congress protected other silver coins from profiteers in 1853 by reducing their silver content. The coin's place in commerce was lost with the economic chaos of the Civil War, which led to hoarding of all gold and silver coins. After the three-cent piece in copper-nickel emerged in 1865, the three-cent silver had a string of low mintages until its abolition by the Coinage Act of 1873. The series is not widely collected, and the pieces remain inexpensive relative to U.S. coins of similar scarcity. (Full article...)
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